The Warning Track: Josh Donaldson is Elevating His Game
Posted Sep 3, 2015 10:50:50 AM.
Last Updated Sep 3, 2015 10:55:26 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
If there was any question as to who the most valuable player is in the American League right now, Josh Donaldson made it loud and clear – it’s him.
Each game, Donaldson is finding new and inventive ways to reaffirm his status as one of the best overall players in the American League. On Wednesday night, it was a play that very few are even willing to attempt; let alone pull off successfully.
With Josh Donaldson at third base, Troy Tulowitzki hit an innocent fly ball to shallow centre field. The Cleveland Indians’ second baseman Jason Kipnis backed up to make the catch, and ordinarily this is where the play ends.
However, Josh Donaldson displays his cunning baseball instincts and manages to tag up, makes an incredibly agile slide into home plate and scores on a sac fly to the second baseman.
This is the type of play which most coaches would strongly advise against because there simply isn’t enough time to make it to home plate with the second baseman playing so close to the infield. However, this is where Josh Donaldson’s supreme baseball IQ kicked in and let his instincts take over.
Judging by the way he just narrowly avoided the tag by Yan Gomes, it’s as though Josh Donaldson has become one with The Matrix; he is playing baseball in slow motion while everybody else is playing in fast forward.
That was just one of the many jaw-dropping plays Josh Donaldson has made this season on the base paths, at the plate and in the field. There is no question – Josh Donaldson really is the best of the best players on the field right now.
And then just when it looks like he couldn’t get any more impressive, Donaldson then manages to stretch a single into a double by reading the outfielder like the newspaper and takes an extra base.
In one single game, Josh Donaldson picked up two extra bases he had absolutely no business taking. Extrapolate that sample size over the course of one season and you can see just how valuable Donaldson has been to the Toronto Blue Jays.
So how does he manage to do this night after night? Donaldson is a self-proclaimed “baseball rat”; he’s always talking about baseball and always trying to improve his craft and be a better overall player. You can see it in his numbers and his hustle on the field, and the work is definitely paying off.
The grind of the 162-game schedule may cause some players to break down, but Josh Donaldson has elevated his game at the most crucial point in the season
As the Blue Jays continue their push for the postseason and attempt to fight off the Yankees for an American League East division title, Josh Donaldson is one man who is refusing to let anyone get in the Blue Jays’ way.
Baseball is admittedly an individually-driven sport, but the ripple effects of Donaldson’s play are certainly being felt throughout the Blue Jays’ clubhouse. When teammates see Josh Donaldson give his absolute all on the field every single game, it surely must motivate them to elevate their game as well.
